I have avoided writing this post because I felt like we've spent such a short time here and we tend to go to the same few places. But after enough requests for recommendations, I thought I'd share our favorites. This is in no way an all-inclusive list, but these are the spots that Paul and I (and Ellerie) have gone to, continue to go to and enjoy.

These places are all south of the 8 freeway (in the greater downtown area). We lived in Little Italy for a year (2010-2011) and now that we live north a bit, we still find ourselves heading back that way most often unless we're going to our neighborhood place (which has great beer, is very kid-friendly and in walking distance from our house #holygrail).

FOR DINNER

Seersucker - this is our only Gaslamp area restaurant because we don't go down there often (it's a fun area but it's hard to park, very crowded, etc.) We went for our first anniversary and I went recently with a bachelorette group. Both times it was good.

El Camino - home of the Instagram famous Hola sign. This is our favorite (fairly Californian) Mexican restaurant. If you want authentic Mexican, there are dozens of little taco shops to be found.

Prep Kitchen - this is a bit fancier than the others, though still hipster (that's sort of our jam). Get the bacon wrapped dates. And we love the steak tartare.

Tractor Room - Great food although portions are huge. Like enough to feed a family...for a week. The cocktails are great.

100 Wines - I'm not sure how we found ourselves here, but it's a fun spot. Again, hipster-ish menu and obviously lots of wine. Fun little outdoor patio. This is a good place to share a bunch of small plates. We all (even Ellerie) love the Brussels sprouts and crispy cauliflower.

FOR LUNCH

Burger Lounge - this is a chain but serves great burgers. I'm not a vegetarian but I get the veggie burger every time because it's so excellent

Urban Solace - we've actually gone here for dinner a few times, but Paul's gone during lunch and said it was great. The duck macaroni is awesome.

FOR BREAKFAST/BRUNCH

Influx - great quick breakfast spot and the lattes are good. They have free wi-fi (ask for the password at the counter) and I like to work here some mornings or while I'm waiting for my film to be developed across the street.

Snooze - crowded on the weekends, but we went early on a weekday and had no issue. Great eggs benedict options and cute diner look.

Donut Bar - always a line, but worth checking out just for the novelty of eating absurd donuts (like butterbeer!)

FOR COFFEE

Dark Horse - killer pour over. Beans are in-house roasted. We usually get the Ethiopian or Kenyan beans, depending on what they have.

Bird Rock Coffee Roasters - is another local coffee roaster and they just opened a new location in Little Italy. It's beautiful. Amazing pour over. If you're not into black coffee, get the cappuccino. It's the best we've ever had.

FOR BOOZE

Waterfront - Yes, it's a hole-in-the-wall/dive bar. Yes, the bathrooms are gross. But the bar food is good and the beer is better. This was our absolute favorite place when we lived in Little Italy.

Stone Liberty Station - there are a lot of great breweries in the area, but this is one of our favorites.

And really, every restaurant we recommend serves great drinks. San Diego is a beer town and if you like IPAs you're in luck.

FOR DESSERT

Pappalecco - the gelato is amazing. Coffee and pastries are great too.

FOR FUN STUFF TO BUY

(this section is incredibly skimpy, I haven't had as much time as I'd like to wander fun little shops and boutiques, but these are a few of the highlights from the top of my head. Please yelp whatever area you're in to find more little shops!)

this blog post from two years ago includes some of my favorite vintage shops. These stores are NOT Goodwill prices, but are super fun to look around.

FOR KIDDOS

I get asked a lot about what's fun stuff to do with kids and I never know what to say because we just bring Ellerie on our adventures. We take her on a lot of walks. There is a park near our house that she runs around at. Other than that, I'm not much help except for...

San Diego Zoo - going to the zoo here is like going to Disneyland (meaning it's as aweome as Disneyland) and costs just about as much. EDIT - I just learned it's only half the cost to go to the zoo vs. Disney for a day. And we do LOVE the zoo but...it's hard for me to recommend it because for us it's an easy jaunt and since we have season passes I don't feel bad when we leave after just an hour and a few exhibits. You know your kids and if this would be an activity they'd like.

And seriously? The reality? We like to stay home a lot.

All of these photos are from my Instagram. Follow me there for more on the go, good stuff.

Tomorrow is my due date. Sometime in the next week, we'll meet this little girl. It feels like it's been forever since we knew there was a baby on the way and it feels like just yesterday that I was wishing for another family member.

I wanted to share today some of my favorite photos from the maternity shoot that I had with the fantastic Tara Whitney last month. Because this was my first pregnancy, I was unprepared for and fascinated by all the body changes - especially in this final trimester. And while FaceTime is awesome, it's been hard having Paul across the globe and not able to celebrate this experience in person with me. Having these photos taken was a way to document this crazy time period for both of us.

And Tara is just magic with the camera.

I have loved being pregnant. Yep. I'm one of those annoying women. But I am also thrilled that soon she'll be out. And here. I'm can't wait to really get a look a this little person who dances in my belly. I feel a bit like I know her and I am so excited to finally introduce her to her dad and my family and friends that love her so much already.

I told Paul a few weeks ago that I had a moment where I realized being sad about him potentially missing the birth is like scheduling a lifelong excursion together and then being sad that we had to take different planes on the first flight. Lame? Yes. How rad and exciting it would (or will be!) to start this adventure together, in the same room, in the same moment. But at the same time, that flight is so minor compared to the full trip. When you're pregnant, it's easy to think about the birth is this huge event that marks the end of it. But, of course, the birth is this huge event that marks the beginning of it.

And the beginning.

Oh, how thrilled I am to be almost to the beginning.

And for the memory keepers or those curious to what I'll do with these photos... One or two might be framed and hung in our master bathroom. Then, I am going to design a book with just photos from this shoot and all the letters I have been writing the baby since I found out I was pregnant. It will be hardbound and if I do it right - awesome. I'll share here once it's made.

All photos by Tara Whitney. Tara, you are the most rad. Thank you for helping me capture this experience. Cannot wait for the shoot with Paul AND the little one.

It's going to be awhile before I get things organized and the right furniture to properly fill the space. The plus side of being almost six months pregnant and having four years to live in one place is I get to slow down a notch. Not exactly my normal style, but very important this time around.

I plan to have things mostly set up (functional & decently decorated) by the end of May. Baby girl is expected June 16th.

Before we start the tour...I want to just say thanks for sharing in my excitement. This house is our dream home. The absolute best place I could have imagined. I will have much more to share about how we nabbed it when I get the home buying story written, but for now I'll say it's a dream. And such a delightful blank slate.

It's one story and was built in 1961. It was recently flipped so the bathrooms, kitchen, appliances, windows & carpet are new. Walls were taken down which really helped bring in more light The flippers nailed it. Like seriously. Nailed it. I saw some before photos (in similar home that just sold on our new street) and I cannot believe the magic that was worked on this place before it became ours. There are little things that over the years we will change and a big part of the backyard is in need of a complete overhaul, but it's a move-in-ready gem, for sure.

So without further ado...

Welcome! On the left is the garage entrance. On the right is an entry closet and the hall to the bedrooms.

When you come a bit further in, you're in a big space. Obviously the fireplace is out in front and kitchen is to the left.

You can enter left into the kitchen.

The cabinets and the subway tile are no joke things I dream about.

The kitchen opens up into that big room again. We love that there is a built in wine fridge and so much counter top space. On the right is a peek pantry with sliding doors.

This photo is from the back corner of the big room, right where those big windows are. You can see the pantry better in this shot. I asked and the seller was kind enough to leave the stools for us. I love them. We will be replacing that light fixture as soon as my dad can get down to hang the West Elm pendant lamp I am obsessed with (we went with the huge 24 inch round one).

Here is a peek out the back windows. You can see the "finished" part of the yard and then the unfinished part. Everything behind that chain link fence is ours. It goes on and on and it's filled with dead plants & junk but TONS of succulents too. The backyard and our plans for it will need it's own post(s).

This is looking at another side of the fireplace from the "dining area" wall. Windows are to the left. We'll most likely put the TV against that inside wall (on the right) and make a little sitting area to the left side.

And then this is from in front of the fireplace looking back at the dining area. At first I thought there was enough space there to have a kitchen table and extra space for a small couch/sitting area. I was super wrong. Because of the remodel, the bar and stools now stick out a little too far into the room. See how smooshed against them the table would have to be to sit under that lamp? So we are going to hang the lamp from the center of that middle ceiling portion and get a large dining table (that seats 6 comfortably) to properly fill the space. I am so excited to table shop! I know exactly what I want, but no idea where to buy it. We will eat at the big table at all times. When it's just the three of us, we'll take up just one side.

So this is from the other fireplace wall looking toward the front door. I have another little area to the right there that I have to figure out what to do with. For orientation - kitchen is to the right, hall is to the left.

This side of the house is the bathrooms and bedrooms. That room right in front is the baby's room and our bedroom is down the hall to the left.

Here's baby girl's room. It's a rectangle, and decent size. The ceilings are the same in every room.

Here's the main bathroom. Right next to the baby's room. Sometime down the line, I would love to re-tile the shower with a color. We'll see...

I'll be using the front bedroom for my office. It's about the same size as the baby's room. Eventually we'll switch the carpet out for wood floor. Outside the window you can see a half wall that was added to the front for decor and privacy. Sounds odd, but when I eventually share a photo of the front of the house, it will make sense.

And then - sorry it's dark - this is the hall to the master bedroom. There is a linen closet on the right side.

And here's the master bedroom! It's almost a perfect square.

This is from the window wall looking at the closets.

And this is a peek at the teeny tiny master bathroom!

And here is a peek at inside. It's small but mighty. We'll eventually change out the tile in the shower here too just to bring in something brighter. I could also see us going back to one sink - two is fun but SO cramped.

It's crazy to end on a photo of the bathroom, so here's another of the kitchen. Remember - that lamp will be the first thing to go. Oh, and that metal box on the wall is part of the old intercom system in the house from the 60s. So oddly futuristic. It doesn't work well, but maybe someday we'll fix it.

Hope you enjoyed the tour! Can't wait to share snippets as it all comes together.

I drove up alone with a car-full of stuff and I'll leave alone (in a different car & with more stuff). I told Paul on FaceTime this morning that after two solo moves, it will be strange when we are able to move together! I can't imagine what that will be like (though at least one of us will be needed to wrangle the kiddo(s!?) while the other one does exciting things like wait on hold with the water company).

I loved living here in this little townhouse on this little beach street. It was a fun adventure and a great challenge to decorate. I can't say that leaving is bittersweet though. These past 15 months have been sweet, but the real sweetness is yet to come.

So good-bye Sunset Lane! You were gorgeous and so wonderful to our little family.

I could seriously write a long love letter to the city - specifically Little Italy where we lived right after we got married. (Our apartment was behind those two non-blurry windows in the photo above!) I won't though. That's boring. Instead, I will just say this... spending a few days in San Diego makes me so excited to (hopefully) return. And spending a few days in Little Italy (at the Porto Vista hotel with it's fun photo murals) makes me realize that if we come back, we have to do it right and live close to downtown again. There is much to look forward to (including great new restaurants on India Street!) these next few years.

Have a very happy Friday! And thank you so much for your stamp shop orders yesterday.

My name is Elise Blaha Cripe. I live in San Diego, California with my husband and our two young daughters.

I make stuff like it's my job.

In 2015 I launched GET TO WORK BOOK®, a daily planner + goal-setting journal. I also own a shop where I sell rad handmade items. For almost ten years, this blog is where I shared general life musings, insight into being a small business owner and the occasional craft project. I have recently switched my creative focus and no longer post here with any frequency. I am no longer monitoring comments, but please feel free to email me at elise[@]gettoworkbook.com if you have any questions about a post you see here.

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